On Saturday, November 18th, at approximately 7:45 a.m., my 4-year-old daughter Emma accidentally sat in the wrong chair at breakfast during our family gathering. My sister, Vanessa Patterson, responded by throwing a hot cast iron skillet at her face, causing second and third degree burns covering 12% of her body. When I tried to confront her, my mother told me to stop shouting because Emma was disturbing everyone’s mood.
My father said some children just ruined peaceful mornings. On Tuesday, November 21st, while Emma was hospitalized and recovering, Vanessa gained unauthorized access to her hospital room and disconnected her monitoring equipment. Emma’s heart stopped for 43 seconds before nurses discovered the tampering. My uncle Howard Patterson, upon learning of this second attempt on my daughter’s life, stated, “Some kids just aren’t meant to make it.
I am posting this to inform everyone of who these people truly are. Police are investigating both incidents. I will be pursuing all available criminal and civil remedies. I tagged every family member who’d been present. I posted it publicly. Then I sent screenshots to my parents’ church, including the pastor and several prominent members.
I sent the information to Uncle Howard’s employer. He was a financial adviser at a large firm in Phoenix. I sent it to Vanessa’s workplace. She managed a boutique in Columbus. I contacted Marcus’s wife, Jennifer, separately. She’d been quieter during the hospital visit, standing behind my brother.
I’d seen something in her eyes that looked like horror. Jennifer, this is Rachel. I need you to know exactly what happened and what your husband defended. I sent her the folk timeline with evidence. Within 30 minutes, she called me back crying. Rachel, I had no idea. Marcus told me Emma had gotten hurt in an accident, that you were being overdramatic.
I didn’t know Vanessa deliberately. I can’t even say it. I’m so sorry. Are you still with him? I’m packing my bags right now. I’m going to my sisters in Toledo. I can’t be married to someone who would defend this. Jennifer became my first ally. She sent me additional text messages from the family group chat I’d been excluded from.
Messages where they discussed handling me. Messages where Vanessa called Emma a brat who needed to learn boundaries. Messages where my mother suggested they should all just deny everything and claim Emma had grabbed the skillet herself. I forwarded everything to Detective Harris. The Facebook post went nuclear within 3 hours.
Over 200 shares, comments flooded in. Disgust, horror, calls to report them all to child protective services. Several people recognized my parents from church and said they’d be alerting the congregation leadership. My mother called from a number of hadn’t blocked. I answered, “Rachel, what have you done?” Her voice was shrill.
People are calling us monsters. The pastor requested we not attend services this Sunday. Your father’s golf buddies are asking questions. Good, I said calmly. You are monsters. You enabled someone to severely burn my daughter and then tried to cover up a murder attempt. Nobody tried to murder anyone. You’re being hysterical.
Mom, there’s video footage of Vanessa disconnecting the monitors. There are text messages where you all discussed lying to police. I have recordings of the voicemails you left me. Everything is documented. Silence on the other end. You destroyed this family, she finally said. No, you did. I’m just making sure everyone knows about it. She hung up.
Uncle Howard’s employer called me two days later. A compliance officer named David Brennan explained that several clients had contacted the firm expressing concerns about Howard’s character. They were launching an internal investigation and had placed him on administrative leave. Your uncle works with retirees and families, David explained.
Trust is paramount in this field. If these allegations are true, he’s violated every ethical standard we have. They’re true. I have police reports and hospital records. Howard was fired within the week. Vanessa lost her job at the boutique after the owner received dozens of messages from the Facebook post. The boutique depended heavily on local clientele and online reputation.
They couldn’t afford to be associated with someone who’ assaulted a child. Detective Harris called on Friday with an update. We’ve reviewed all the evidence, including the security footage from the hospital. We’re charging Vanessa Patterson with aggravated assault for the Skillet incident and attempted murder for the hospital incident.
The DA believes we have a strong case for both. What about the others? They were accessories. It’s complicated with the family members who were present for the first incident. We’re looking at potential child endangerment charges for failing to render aid or contact authorities. Your uncle’s statement at the hospital could potentially qualify as conspiracy or accessory after the fact, but that’s harder to prove.
The DA’s office is reviewing all options. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something. Vanessa was arrested on Monday, November 27th. Her bail was set at $750,000 given the severity of the charges and the fact that she’d already attempted to harm the victim once while in the hospital. My parents tried to help her raise it, but word had spread throughout their community.
Nobody wanted to be associated with them. Vanessa sat in county jail for 5 weeks before finally making bail through a bondsman who charged her an exorbitant premium. The Detroit Free Press article came out 2 days after her arrest. Amanda Cruz had written a devastating piece titled When Family Becomes the Enemy: A Michigan Mother’s Fight for Justice After Her Daughter’s Assault.
The article included everything: photos of Emma Burns, transcripts of my mother’s voicemails, screenshots of the family group chat, and expert commentary from child psychologists about familial abuse patterns. The article went viral. Within 24 hours, it had been shared over 50,000 times. National news outlets picked it up.
Good Morning America reached out requesting an interview. Dr. Phil’s producers called. The Ellen Degenerous show wanted us to appear. I declined most of them. Emma was still recovering, still processing trauma. The last thing she needed was to be paraded on national television. But I did agree to one interview with a local news station, primarily because they promised to keep Emma’s face hidden and focus on the legal and systemic issues rather than sensationalism.
